Changes

The world is changing. It always is. But it seems that we are about to go through one of those seismic changes that is only suppose to come around once a generation. But this would be the third one in my lifetime, and this one will be the rubber match. The first one was great: the fall of communism in Europe and Russia, the end of the Cold War and the threat of global nuclear war. The second shift has been for the worse: the globalization of radical Islamic fundamentalism and the related threat of terrorism. This has lead to September 11th, Afghanistan, and the Iraq invasion. And now the third one, which I feel will come from the death of some of the most influential world leaders of the later part of the 20th century. It has already started with the death last night of Arafat. At some point in the near future, Pope John Paul, Fidel Casto, the Dai Lama and others will pass away, leaving huge power vacuums in structures that directly or indirectly affect billions of people. Who will fill those positions? What changes will they bring to the world around them? They could possibly bring peace to the Middle East, change centuries-old social stigmas, open up the Caribbean for economic growth, and help bring the most populist nation in the world closer to openness and democracy. Or the entire Middle East could be swept into war, religious schisms could ripe the whole fabric of a faith apart, an entire population could be denied freedom and continue to affect American policies, and shove China towards crackdown and conflict.

And we don't know what will happen. But it is sure that these changes will come down to all of us and affect us in ways we cannot fathom today. But there are other changes coming, changes that will be from the bottom up, changes that will make this a better world, and hopefully will make the death of old terrorists (or freedom fighters) not such a scary proposition.